Will the Houthi attacks activate the Mecca Pact?

What the report says

Al Jazeera’s commentary says Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia and threats to the Bab al-Mandeb have renewed attention on the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement linking Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkiye. The article notes that the pact was first signed by Saudi Arabia and Pakistan in September 2025 and expanded in August 2026 to include Turkiye, with a joint secretariat based in Riyadh and Pakistan initially chairing the arrangement.

According to the piece, the agreement is still being built out and has not publicly defined the exact conditions for direct military action. Al Jazeera reports that Pakistani Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has said an unprovoked attack on Saudi Arabia, or a spillover from Yemen into the kingdom, would make the pact operational. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has described the framework as similar to NATO, meaning a member state would have to request and define the help it wants.

The article says Saudi Arabia has not yet invoked the pact. It adds that, for now, the more likely response from Pakistan and Turkiye would be diplomatic pressure on Iran and support for Saudi defence rather than direct intervention inside Yemen. It also places the issue in the wider context of reduced US willingness to act as the Gulf’s primary security guarantor, which is pushing regional states to develop their own defence arrangements.